In the Beginning
by CreativeQuill
Summary: (COMPLETE) The prequel to Harry Potter and the Power of Truth, and it's sequel Harry Potter and the Power of Faith. Enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

_Okay, my friends, here is the prequel to Harry Potter and the Power of Truth... I hope you enjoy it._

_As I warned you, this story is three chapters, not a full-length fic – just a taster. And as it covers approximately three years, there are jumps in it. It is not, I repeat, NOT, a full-length fanfic – just the detail that has been previously alluded to in my other two fics._

_For those to whom this isn't enough, let me say that, the experience of writing this series of HP fics has been incredibly rewarding, and I do plan to continue – I'm taking a few weeks to pull together some ideas, and then, we'll see where we go. I don't think that I will write anything further along the lines of this story, but, hey, you never know. I'm thinking of an sixth year fic, unrelated to this story... but we'll see._

_I love you all. Thank you so much for the encouragement you have given me. It really has been a wonderful ride!_

_CQ  
_

* * *

Chapter One: The Beginning

Sixteen year old Harry Potter glanced back at the group that had followed him in through the front doors of the school. Four sixth years and one fifth. It was the fifth year that caught his eye for the hundredth time that day.

Ginny Weasley had her bright red hair tied on top of her head in some intricate twist. Harry thought it kind of looked like the other girls hair at the last Yule Ball, but... it was messier, with a few bits hanging down as though she'd missed them. And he didn't think that any of the girls had gone to the Yule Ball with their hair held up like that with a pencil.

Strangely, Ginny's hair caused something to burn warm in him, making him _very_ uncomfortable. If Ron...

"Harry?"

Harry started, then looked to his tall friend.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, looking at him curiously.

"Nothing, Ron, nothing."

"Then why are you staring at my sister like that?"

"I... I was just wondering why she had a pencil stuck in her hair," Harry admitted, not willing to go any further with that.

Ron glanced at Ginny, then shrugged.

"Because it's what I had handy, Harry," Ginny said, shaking her head. "Boys!"

Harry glanced at Ron, and Ron looked at him, his expression clearly saying '_Girls!'_. When Harry turned, however, and saw Hermione watching him, he got another shiver down his spine. Hermione was far, far too insightful for Harry's peace of mind.

"What?" he challenged. He had learned over the years that ignoring Hermione never worked, and generally only made the end result more uncomfortable for him.

"Nothing," Hermione turned, placing her trunk in the pile next to the Grand Staircase. "Come along, everyone, or we'll miss the Welcome Feast."

Ron's eyes immediately brightened. Any mention of food tended to distract him, from anything. He charged forward after Hermione, and they were followed quickly by Luna and Neville, who was blushing when he realized he was walking next to the pretty blonde witch.

Leaving Harry and Ginny to follow.

"I like it," Harry said before he could stop himself.

"What?" Ginny looked up at him. At five foot four, she wasn't exactly short, but Harry had grown so much in the last year, she was forced to look up at him. Way up.

Six foot two Harry looked down at the pretty red-headed witch.

_Pretty?_ He thought. _Where did that come from?_

"Your hair. I like it like that. It looks... pretty."

Ginny stared at him for a moment, then blushed. The curse of being a red head. Looking away, she smiled. "Thanks, Harry."

"I... it just..." Harry swallowed. "Come on, we're going to miss the feast."

* * *

Classes began early the next morning. Harry had actually thought to drop Potions, but when McGonagall spoke to him about the requirements for Auror training, which he knew he would never get out of, it was clear that he would need NEWT level Potions.

Which meant more time in the company of bloody Snape.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and a very nervous Neville made their way into the Potions lab first thing, and found seats together. There were three others in the room, two Hufflepuffs and a Ravenclaw. As Harry turned in his seat, the door banged open and none other than Draco Malfoy entered.

"Well, well, if it isn't Potty and the Weasel... and the..."

"Don't bother saying it, Malfoy," Harry said. "It's getting old."

"Really? Too bad you won't have the same opportunity, isn't it, Potter?" Draco grinned, heading for his seat.

"Git," Hermione muttered.

"Prat," Neville added.

"Bloody wanker," Ron said, not bothering to lower his voice.

"What did you say, Weasel?" Draco turned back.

"I said bloody wanker, Malfoy. You know what that is, don't you? You should. It's someone who..."

"You will all take your seats and desist this pointless alpha-male posturing," a voice came from the front of the class. Snape.

"How does he _do_ that?" Neville whispered.

"Bloody bat. I'm telling you," Ron said, turning away from Malfoy.

"As Miss Granger is the only female in the room, I will have to assume this display is for her benefit. Mr Malfoy, I'm surprised at you. Weasley, sit down."

Hermione, looking shocked and mildly angry, sat straighter in her chair. Harry smiled. Poor Hermione. To her, the thought of being fought over by two such as Ron and Malfoy would be... distasteful to say the least.

Although he did wonder at times...

"The ingredient list is on the board... the instructions are in your text, page fourteen. Silence, or I will assume you are done and grade you accordingly," Snape snapped, glaring around the room until the eight students quieted.

His glare turned briefly on Harry, who looked back at him, seemingly unaffected. Snape didn't like direct challenges, but Harry was not the type to back down. Never from a filthy Death Eater, in any case.

Strangely, this time, it was Snape's eyes that dropped first. Harry felt a brief moment of triumph, then turned happily to help Ron with their potion.

It couldn't last, but he was determined to enjoy the feeling while it did.

* * *

Dinner that evening was interesting. Ron, Harry and Neville arrived first, Ron in the lead as Neville and Harry walked behind, discussing the odds of pulling together a decent Quidditch team that year, with the twins, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell all gone. There had been rumors already that Oliver Wood had approached Katie upon their arrival at Kings Cross at the end of last year and asked her to marry him. No one knew for sure what her answer had been.

Harry and Ron appeared to be the only ones who would be returning to the team.

"Come _on_, you two!" Ron called. "Steak pie!"

Harry shook his head and made to the other side of the Gryffindor table. Ron sat down across from him, with Neville beside Ron.

"Here come the girls..." Neville said, looking towards the doors.

Harry glanced up to see Hermione and Ginny, along with Luna Lovegood, come through and walk towards their table. Harry noticed a strange look on the Ravenclaw girls' face, but forgot it as Hermione and Ginny sat down on either side of him. They were giggling.

Giggling girls never boded well for him. Ever.

He looked up, surprised, as Luna sat down on the bench next to Ron.

"Ummm... Luna?" Ron said. "You're in Ravenclaw."

"Not tonight, I'm not, Ronald," she smiled. "I decided to eat with my... friends... tonight.

More giggling, and...

Dear Merlin, what was Ginny's hand doing... _there?_

Harry turned surprised eyes to the redheaded witch next to him, who appeared to be looking with interest at the bowls of food in front of her, but Harry's attention certainly wasn't on _food_... how could it be when....

"Uh, Gin?" Harry said quietly.

"Yes, Harry."

"Did you know that that is _my_ leg?"

"Yes, Harry." she smiled at him, giving his leg a squeeze before mercifully removing her hand.

Harry swallowed, his body's response to her flirting violent and instantaneous.

Dear Merlin... _flirting?_ Was Ginny Weasley flirting with him?

Harry looked across at Ron, who suddenly had an odd look on his face as he tried to swallow a mouthful of roast potato. Luna, however, was looking at him with a triumphant look on his face.

Ron's eyes met Harry's, and they shot each other panicked looks.

What on earth were they in for?

* * *

Harry learned, over the next few weeks, the fine art of avoidance. Ron, apparently, was following his lead, as whenever Harry lit out in search of an alternate route to his classes, preferably a route where he wasn't in danger of being ambushed by a certain redhaired witch whose brother would _kill _him if he did what instinct was telling him to...

Well, Ron wasn't generally far behind.

"Merlin, Harry, what the _hell_ is going on?"

"What do you mean, Ron?" Harry gulped. Ron hadn't noticed his reaction to Ginny, had he?

"Bloody Luna!" Ron said. "She's _everywhere_. Every time I turn around..."

"I think she likes you, Ron," Harry grinned.

"And bloody Ginny, too!"

Harry stilled. "Ginny?"

"Come on, Harry, you're not _that_ thick. She's been hunting you down, too. Don't tell me you haven't noticed?"

"Umm... well..."

"Not that I'd have a problem with it, of course... but if she's annoying you I could tell her..."

"Um, Ron?"

"What?"

"You wouldn't have a problem with me... and Ginny?"

"Of course not, Harry." Ron said, following him around the third corner on their detour to Transfiguration. "You'd be great for her, and I know I could trust you with her... she's still my sister."

"Uh, really?"

"You like her?"

"Uh... yeah. I think... I think I do." Harry admitted.

"I'm okay with it, Harry. Really," Ron said. "Just remember, though..."

Ron stopped, pulling Harry to a stop beside him.

"Just remember, if you hurt her, Voldemort won't be a problem any more. At least, for you."

Harry took a deep breath at his friends rather nasty smile.

"I wouldn't hurt her, Ron. I couldn't... but I don't think it's an issue, really."

"Why not?"

"She just playing games, Ron," Harry said. "It started on our first day back... she's not really interested... she's just... "

"You're nutters, Harry," Ron scoffed. "Now, I do admit, I find it hard to believe that Luna might be.... but Ginny? Nah. She's had a thing for you forever. Trust me, she's not playing games."

"You think?"

"I know," Ron confirmed. "Damn it, we're late! I'm going to _kill_ Ginny and Luna for this!"

Ron turned on the speed and was gone around the corner before Harry could get his brain into gear enough to follow. But he wasn't far behind, and by the time he hit the door to McGonagall's classroom, he had a plan, and a grin on his face.

* * *

That night at dinnner, Harry nonchalantly waited with Ron and Neville, in their usual seats. The three girls entered just before the meal was served, and, trading knowing glances, came to sit where they usually did, Hermione to Harry's left, Ginny to his right, and Luna beside Ron.

Harry smiled. Ginny wasn't going to know what hit her.

As the food was served, Harry reached for a piece of chicken. Predictably, he felt a small hand touch his right knee. Ginny.

He started, his body reacting as it always did to her touch, but managed to put the chicken on his plate without dropping it. Settling back, his heart pounding as he internally wondered if he had finally gone completely insane, he slipped his right hand under the table, and placed it squarely on her thigh, squeezing before drawing it slowly up towards her hip.

With his left hand, he picked up his water goblet and took a long drink.

Ginny gasped.

Harry figured that that was enough for now, and smiled, drawing his hand back from her and concentrating on his dinner.

Oh, yes. Ginny wouldn't know what hit her. Payback certainly could be a bitch.

* * *

The meal ended, and students began drifting towards the doors. Ginny hadn't eaten much, nor said much, but she was one of the first to stand and leave. Harry was mildly disappointed, he'd rather looked forward to walking back to the common room with her.

Maybe Ron was wrong, and she _had_ been playing. And now, it was over, because he'd called her bluff. _Damn._

"Coming, Harry?" Ron asked as he and Neville stood.

"In a minute, Ron,"

"See you in the common room, then, mate. Neville's got a quidditch magazine he wants to show me..."

Harry nodded, then sat, thinking about what had just gone on. Was she playing with him, or wasn't she? What had that reaction been about? Had he surprised her as much as she had surprised him that first night?

Bloody hell, who could understand girls?

Standing, he left the Great Hall, heading for the Gryffindor common room. Ginny Weasley was an enigma. One he would like to figure out, but he figured he was going to need some help. A girl translator.

Hermione. Harry grinned. Hermione would know what was going on.

He was just about to put on a burst of speed when two hands snaked out from behind a suit of armor and pulled him into a dark alcove in the wall.

The strength behind them surprised him as the smaller figure took hold of his shirt front and pushed him up against the wall. Before Harry could take a breath, he felt warm lips meet his, and push him further up against the wall. The smell of strawberries reached him.

He knew that smell. It was Ginny's shampoo. He'd used it mistakenly once at the Burrow and Ron and the twins had teased him all day.

Quick as lightning, Harry grasped the front of her robes and swung her around, pinning _her_ against the wall, and taking the kiss a step further. Ginny stilled for a moment with shock before wrapping her arms around his neck and responding.

They were both panting when Harry pulled back a moment later.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ginny gasped.

"I... kissing you... I thought..."

"No, Harry... I meant, why did you stop?" she pulled him back to her, kissing him hungrily.

It was ages later that they heard footsteps approaching and pulled apart. The steps continued past the darkened alcove and they both let go their held breath.

"Harry..."

"Ginny, you'd better not be playing games with me," Harry said, his forehead resting against hers.

"Games?"

"Because it's driving me insane, and Ron and your brothers would kill me..."

"What?" Ginny seemed confused. Harry shook his head, pinning her against the wall, his body pressed against hers. Her eyes widened with realization.

"You can't do _that_ to a bloke, daily, for weeks, and not mean it, Gin. If you're playing some game... some girl thing with Luna and Hermione, then tell me now, but don't put me through this any more, please."

"You... I..." Ginny gulped. "You really feel... that... for me?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Do you think I have this kind of reaction to just anyone, Ginny Weasley?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

"I don't. It's you. Now, is it some game, or not?"

"Not," she shook her head. "Harry, I wouldn't do that."

"Then why..."

"I thought you had noticed me, before the Welcoming Feast... but I didn't know if you would..." she sighed. "Hermione and Luna told me that, if I wanted it to come to anything, I'd probably have to make the first move. But then, when you didn't respond... it just sort of... I couldn't stop."

"Oh," Harry said. "It's not because I didn't want to respond, Gin. It's that... you're Ginny... and you... and Ron, and the others, you all mean a lot to me. I didn't want to read you wrong and get everyone upset and..."

"Ah," she nodded. "And now? What's changed?"

"You kissed me," Harry said, pulling her in and kissing her again, hard.

* * *

The Yule Ball that year was held the Thursday night before their Friday departure for holidays. Harry waited nervously in the common room, adjusting his sleeves while he waited for Ginny to come down from the girl's dorms. Ron sailed through, looking very dapper in dark green robes.

"I'm off, then," he said, heading for the portrait hole. "I'm going to pick up Luna and meet you in the Hall."

"See you there, mate," Harry said absently, still watching the girls staircase.

"You won't make her appear any faster by staring up those stairs, Harry." Ron said.

"Oh, I know... but I won't miss a minute of seeing her, either," Harry grinned.

Ron, shaking his head, opened the portrait hole and headed out to meet Luna, who he had been dating for a couple of weeks. Harry was really wondering what their relationship entailed, after Ron had returned to their dorm one night with a stunned but happy look on his face. He'd refused to discuss it, which in itself was odd, and Harry had his suspicions.

Harry and Ginny's relationship entailed a lot of finding of dark corners to be alone in, away from their common room. Ron had been okay with their dating, but had insisted that he not have to watch them snogging, and Harry and Ginny had agreed that it probably wasn't a good idea to give Ron any ammunition.

There was a movement on the stairs and Harry looked up to see Hermione coming down. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a shiny blue thing, and Seamus, who was escorting her to the Ball, gasped from behind Harry.

"Hermione..." Seamus said. "You're beautiful, lass."

"Thank you, Seamus," she nodded, then turned to Harry. "Ginny will be down in a minute, Harry."

"We'll be right behind you, then..." Harry said. "Mione, you're gorgeous."

"Thanks, Harry," she blushed, turning to her date. With her back to him, she didn't see the look he threw Seamus, but Seamus did, and gulped, then nodded.

Good. Seamus would behave himself tonight, Harry nodded.

Turning back to the staircase, he saw the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life. Ginny in a green dress that floated about her, her hair up.

And held with a pencil.

* * *

The months after that flew by. Ginny and Harry spent a lot of time together, and with Hermione, as Ron and Luna were heatedly and heavily dating. Harry had his suspicions as to where the two of them disappeared to after classes and Quidditch games, but he said nothing, figuring that Ron would say something when he was ready to.

And so long as Ron didn't share any details, Harry didn't have to either. Not that anything was happening beyond some pretty amazing snogging sessions, in which Harry regularly came very close to losing control, but always managed to push Ginny away before things got too wildly out of hand. But Harry didn't feel the need to share any details with Ron. He was pretty sure that any detail at all would be enough to have several Weasley brothers hunting him down and turning him into dragon bait.

And Quidditch occupied any spare time that couldn't be spent with Ginny. Harry, as longest-standing player on the team, had been offered the post of captain, and had excitedly accepted, and he and Ron had managed to put together a pretty good team.

As was proven in the Cup game against Slytherin in April. They managed to score eight times to Slytherin's four, and Harry caught the snitch out from under Malfoy's nose in thirty seven minutes. They left the field victorious.

"Harry! Harry! That was _amazing!_" Ginny ran up to him excitedly, jumping into his arms and planting a kiss on him that nearly had him tumbling backwards. As he kissed her back, he felt her legs come up and wrap themselves around his waist, and the reaction of his own body was instantaneous.

"Mr Potter... perhaps you and Miss Weasley could find a more... appropriate time... to celebrate?" Harry pulled back from Ginny to find Dumbledore's twinkling eyes on him.

"Umm... sorry, Professor," Harry said, nearly groaning as Ginny released her legs' hold on him and slid down his body, coming to stand against him. She started to pull away, but Harry, aware of his prospective embarrassment should everyone see the effect she had on him, pulled her back.

She giggled.

Giggled. Dear Merlin.

"You _know_ what you do to me, and you do it _on purpose_, don't you?" he whispered.

"You do the same thing to me, Harry," she whispered back. "My knickers are so wet I'm going to have to go change them before dinner."

Harry felt his breath leave him at the visual that brought to mind, and knew that, unless something changed drastically in the next five minutes, he wouldn't be capable of going to the feast.

Lord, what she did to him.

"Come on, you can walk me to the dorms, and then we'll go find something to eat," she smiled, taking his hand in hers and heading towards the castle.

They walked together, silently, through the halls. Ginny held his hand tightly, and led him up the Grand staircase and through the halls towards the Gryffindor common room. Harry was dirty and sweaty from the game, and really, really wanted to get out of his robes... they were great for the cool April air outside, especially when you were forty feet up on your broom, but inside, they were stiflingly hot.

He was confused for a moment when Ginny didn't turn down the final corridor towards the Gryffindor tower, but continued on down the hall.

"Ginny?"

"Shhh..." she stopped in front of a tapestry.

"What...?"

"Fred told me about it..." she said quietly, lifting the tapestry to the side after looking up and down the hall to make sure that they were alone. Everyone was at the feast, and she was pretty sure... but she didn't want this secret out.

Behind the tapestry there was a door. Quickly, she turned the handle and led Harry in, letting the tapestry fall back into place, hiding the door from view.

Closing it behind them, she pulled out her wand.

"_Lumos_."

"Wow..." Harry looked around. It was a small room, and not much in it, but there was a pile of what appeared to be pillows and blankets in the corner. "Ginny?"

"Fred told me about it," Ginny repeated. "Apparently he and Alicia found it in sixth year..."

"Ginny?"

"No one else knows about it, Harry. At least, I don't think that anyone does. Lock the door."

Harry, looking into her deep brown eyes, didn't hesitate. He quickly waved his wand at the door, said the incantation, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Now," Ginny backed up towards the pile. "Come here."

"Ginny..."

"Shhhh..." she pulled his Quidditch robes off, and laying them on the pile of pillows, lifted her arms and pulled her sweater over her head.

"Dear Merlin..." Harry breathed as she also removed the tiny bit of white lace he assumed passed for a bra. When her jeans joined the pile on the floor, he began to shake. "Oh, dear God..."

"Harry... come here..." She sat, then laid back against his Quidditch robes, holding her hands out to him.

It took Harry three seconds to shed his sweater and tshirt, and come down next to her, his lips meeting hers before his chest crushed against her softness.

"Ginny...?" he whispered, pulling back from her while he still had a measure of control.

"Please, Harry..."

"Are you sure?" he groaned, feeling her softness against him from chest to knees.

"Never more," she confirmed, running her hand along down his chest, over his firm stomach and coming to stop at the waistband of his jeans, resting lightly there before moving to the button and slowly undoing it.

And Harry was lost.


	2. Chapter Two: The Middle

Chapter Two: The Middle

Seventeen year old Harry Potter, a grim look on his face, strode through the front doors of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, into the Entrance Hall in time to see the bright red head disappear up the staircase.

Why did his life have to be so... difficult?

Ginny Weasley didn't even look back at him. Not that she had any reason to. She was dating Dean Bloody Thomas, after all.

The three weeks he'd spent at the Burrow had been a damned nightmare. Eventually, he and Ron had made some excuse and headed for Hermione's house for the last week. Her parents had been welcoming, but Harry found everything there, from the daisies in the front garden, to the regular, quiet mealtimes, rather annoying.

And it didn't help that Ron and Hermione were making weird eyes at each other. Since Ron and Luna had split last June, Harry had had his suspicions about his two best friends. He was quite certain, though, that they hadn't figured it out yet.

And now, final year. And hopefully he'd then be able to get this stupid prophecy over with and then leave. He wasn't quite sure where he would go, but so long as it was as far away from Ginny Weasley as it was possible to be, he didn't much care.

If only he could take her with him...

_Now, that kind of thinking was what got me into this mess_, he thought.

_Why couldn't she just have been honest with me? Why did she have to lead me on, then abandon me when it got difficult?_

_Because, she's fifteen years old. Well... sixteen now, but she WAS fifteen. And she didn't have a clue as to what was truly expected of him. But all I asked for was for us to put our relationship on hold until I could get..._

He remembered the scene vividly.

"Ginny," he had said. "I really, really, need to concentrate on this for now. Dumbledore says..."

"Harry?" she looked up at him. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"No..." he shook his head. "No. Really... I just need some time to concentrate on what I need to do, and while we're..."

"What...?"

"Together..." Harry hesitated. "My mind isn't where it should be."

"I see," she said. "Okay, Harry. If that's what you need."

He had thought she had understood.

_But then, maybe she did,_ the evil little voice at the back of his mind said. _You've always been too much of a risk, Potter_.

"Harry?" Ron said, coming from behind to stand next to him. "You okay, mate?"

"Yes..." Harry pulled his eyes away from the long red hair moving further away and looked at his friend. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I don't know why she did it, Harry," Ron said softly. "But she's my sister..."

"I know, Ron. It's okay."

"No, it's not," Ron said. "But I can't do anything about it."

"I don't expect you to anything about it," Harry said firmly. "Where is Hermione?"

"Coming... she had to find that bloody cat..."

Harry smiled. Yes, seventh year would be what they made it. And he was going to make sure it was good.

* * *

"Mione, I'm so sorry..." Harry sat next to her on the common room couch, his arms around her as she cried.

"Harry? Harry, I just heard.... where is..." Ron flew through the portrait hole, stopping dead as he saw the two of them on the couch. "Hermione?"

She continued to sob into Harry's shoulder, and Ron came to kneel in front of them.

"I'm so very, very sorry, Mione...." Ron whispered, placing his hands on her knees. "Dear Merlin..."

Harry felt the burn of anger begin to engulf him. The news had come less than an hour ago, and he had been concentrating on Hermione since then. Ron had been off somewhere, probably at the Quidditch pitch, and Harry had held Hermione while Dumbledore and McGonagall had given her the news.

There had been an attack in Southhampton. Her home was gone. Her parents were dead. The three of them sat there long into the night, and after Mione fell into a restless slumber, held by the two boys, Harry and Ron looked at each other, their eyes hardening, and a silent promise was made.

Voldemort would pay, and they would be the ones to extract that payment.

* * *

NEWTS were harder than Harry had believed possible. Even Mione was cracking under the strain, and Harry and Ron had taken to flying their brooms early in the morning over the Quidditch pitch just to relax.

Harry was flying early one morning alone, Ron having chosen to stay in bed as it was Saturday, when he noticed a brown head in the stands, watching him.

Hermione.

Flying down, he landed in front of her, and smiled.

"Good morning," he said. "You're up early."

"I don't sleep much lately," she said.

He propped his broom against the bench and sat down next to her, taking off the Quidditch gloves that she had given him the year before for Christmas.

"No," he said. It was all that he really needed to say.

"Harry, can I ask you a question?" she asked softly.

"Of course, Mione."

"I don't want to hurt you," she said softly.

"Mione, you can ask me anything."

"What's it like to be alone?"

"Alone?"

"You know..." she colored. "Without family?"

"Well," Harry smiled sadly. "I'm not really."

"I know, you have your aunt and her family, but..."

"No, Mione... I didn't mean them. I meant you. And Ron," he took a breath. "And the rest of the Weasley family... I'm not alone."

"I..." she took a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob. "I am. Now. I don't have anyone, now, Harry."

"Of course you do," Harry put his arm around her. "You have me, Hermione. We have each other."

"I never had a brother," she laughed through her tears.

"Well, you do now, anytime you want him." Harry gave her a squeeze. "I can't bring them back, Mione. I wish I could, but I can't. But I'll do my best to make him pay for this, I promise you that."

Hermione was silent, but rested her head against his shoulder.

"And you'll be my big brother?" she asked a few moments later, not moving.

"I already am," Harry said quietly. "In all the ways that count, Mione."

"I'd do anything for you, Harry," she said softly. "Anything. Ron and I... even Ginny. We'd do anything to help you. You know that."

"I know, Mione."

"So don't try to do it alone, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

They managed to get through the final exams of their final year. Two weeks before the end of term, Harry was called into Dumbledore's office.

"Sir?"

"Harry, sit down."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, Harry. I just wanted to let you know that the final arrangements have been made for your training."

"Oh..." Harry nodded.

"Also, as you'll be leaving school in the next few weeks, I wanted to make sure that you had everything you needed for going on with..."

"I... I won't be returning to my aunt's home, sir."

Dumbledore stilled, turning to look at Harry curiously.

"I didn't expect you to, Harry."

"Mr and Mrs Weasley have been kind enough to offer me a place to stay for a while..."

"Would that be comfortable for you, Harry?" Dumbledore's voice softened.

"I.... sir?"

"I've noticed that Miss Weasley has been spending rather a lot of time in the company of Mr Thomas. Are you sure you want to return to the Burrow?"

Harry sighed. "It's not like I have a lot of choice, sir. I need a few days, at least, to find a place to live..."

"I don't imagine that that is going to be a problem, Harry."

"Sir?"

"Harry, headquarters is yours."

"What?"

"Harry... the headquarters of the Order in London belongs to you as of your seventeenth birthday. It's Potter Manor. You have a home, and quite a nice one if I do say so."

Harry couldn't wait to return to the common room and tell Ron and Hermione. Hermione especially had been worried about where she would go. Molly had told both of them they were welcome at the Burrow, but now, Harry had a home, and Hermione would, as well, as soon as he found her.

He found them studying together in front of the fire.

"Ron, Hermione... you'll never guess.."

"Harry, slow down!" Hermione looked up. "What is it?"

"I met with Dumbledore..."

"He told you about your training?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Yes, but that's not the best part..."

He told them of Potter Manor, of the things in it that Dumbledore had told him his parents had left for him.

"But what about _training_, Harry?"

Harry's grin died. "It's not going to be easy, Ron. I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. Dumbledore has made arrangements for me to go through auror training, but to do it in only one year..."

"_One year?_" Hermione gasped. "Harry, it's not possible!"

"Yes, it is," Harry said. "But it's going to be seven days a week, eighteen hour days, without a break, for the entire year."

"You can't do that!" Ron said.

"I have to, Ron," Harry said grimly. "I don't have a choice. Voldemort..."

All three were silent for a moment. Then, Harry stood and flexed his shoulders. "I need to get some sleep. Potions exam first thing, and I have to get a good mark."

"Good night, Harry," Hermione's concerned eyes followed him up the stairs. When he disappeared, she turned to Ron. "What are we going to do, Ron?"

Ron's eyes hardened. "I'm going to go and talk to Dumbledore. If Harry has to do it, at least he won't have to do it alone. I'm going to train with him."

As he headed towards the portrait hole, Hermione was right behind him.

* * *

"Mione?" Harry's voice drifted through the dream. "Mione, it's time to get up. We have to meet Kingsley and Tonks downstairs in ten minutes..."

"Mmm... morning, Harry," she sat up to see Harry's dark, messy head poked around the door to her bedroom in Potter Manor. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Coffee's on, I'll pour you a cup. Hurry, or you won't have time for breakfast."

She glanced at her watch as the door shut softly. Five thirty. She'd only fallen into bed at midnight. After seven months of this, she felt ready to die.

As promised, Harry had coffee made and waiting for her on the kitchen counter. Ron was sitting at the table, shovelling food into his mouth at an alarming rate, and Hermione served herself from the pans on the stove and brought her plate to the table.

That was only one of the things that had changed over the past months. Hermione's normal breakfast of cereal and tea had gone by the wayside, to be replaced with a high-protein eggs and bacon, two slices of wholegrain toast with peanut butter, and milky, sweet coffee.

She was taking in over three thousand calories a day on Tonks' specially planned training diet. Harry and Ron were doing much more than that. They needed the calories, and Hermione had noticed that any remaining softness to her body had turned into solid muscle.

Not to mention what it had done for Harry and Ron. She had run into Ron on her way to the shower last night, as he was coming out, shirtless. She'd been shocked. His boyish figure was gone, and in it's place was an incredibly fit, healthy man.

She blushed just remembering it.

Harry and Ron had both changed, physically. They'd always been in good shape, but both of them had widened across the shoulders, Ron until it seemed he would have to turn sideways to go through a doorway. And Harry's face had hardened, his jaw and cheekbones becoming even more firmly drawn.

They hadn't seen anyone other than Kingsley, Tonks, and Dumbledore in the last seven months, but this weekend...

This weekend was Christmas. While they weren't taking the time to go to the Burrow, the Weasley clan had decided to descend upon them here, where there was plenty of room, to be able to spend the one day they were allowed to take away from their training, Christmas Day, with them. And Hermione was curious as to what the response would be to the changes in them.

Ron was already larger and more muscular than any of his older brothers. They were all in for a surprise, Hermione thought.

Harry, for one, planned to sleep. He didn't particularly care that everyone was planning on visiting, but the last person he wanted to see was Ginny. Ron had told him that Ginny had sent and owl to tell him that Dean had given her a promise ring, and the very, very last thing Harry wanted was to see it, and be forced to congratulate her over it.

He simply couldn't do it without breaking down. He knew it.

In the end, he shouldn't have worried. Ginny didn't come. She had gone to spend Christmas with Dean's family, much to Molly's discomfort. After a short greeting, and apologies to Ron's family, Harry still chose to spend as much of the day as possible asleep.

* * *

It was June, and Ginny Weasley sat on the bed in her dorm, wondering how it had all come to this. She was about to leave Hogwarts forever, she was done with her education, and would be joining the staff of St Mungo's as a student nurse in three weeks.

She should be happy. But she was honest enough with herself to know that she wasn't.

She looked down at the framed picture laying on her bed. Colin Creavy had given it to her last year, a week after she and Harry had broken up. Colin, at least, had been capable of interpreting how she felt.

The picture had been taken just after the Cup game. She was in Harry's arms, where she had always thought she was meant to be.

But she'd ruined that, too. Gone and rushed him, when she knew he wasn't ready for what she wanted. Oh, he had _wanted_ it, but he was Harry Potter, and had other things... bigger things... to worry about. He hadn't needed that serious of a relationship that quickly.

And in rushing it, she had lost him.


	3. Chapter Three: The End

Chapter Three: The End

"Oh, Harry, it's _perfect_!" Hermione squealed. "I can't wait to move in!"

Harry looked around at the tiny lounge they stood in. The largest thing in the entire house was the lounge hearth, which they had entered with the estate agent earlier.

"I just don't understand," Harry said. "Why can't you stay with me?"

"Harry, I love you for giving me a home, really, I do!" Hermione hugged him tightly. "But really, I need my own space. This is _mine_, Harry. Do you understand?"

Harry sighed. "I suppose so. But I'll miss you."

"I'll miss your cooking," Ron said from the kitchen. "Because you won't be using this cooker to do much other than boil water, Hermione. This thing is ancient."

"Ron!" she rolled her eyes. "Is all you think about _food_?"

"No," Ron denied, walking into the room munching a biscuit. "Sometimes I think about sex."

"Please tell me that you brought that biscuit with you?" Hermione looked askance at him as the remainder of the biscuit was popped into his mouth.

"Why?"

"Because this cottage hasn't been lived in in nearly four years, Ron, and anything you found in the kitchen..."

"Relax, Hermione..." Ron shook his head. "I'm not stupid. Mum always makes sure I've got a biscuit or two."

"Or a dozen," Harry smiled at his friend. Molly had been sending home packets of biscuits and other treats with Ron since he had begun spending the odd night at the Burrow after the end of their training. Harry had yet to return there.

"Well, I like it, Mione," Ron said. "But you need some furniture."

"I've already got an order in," Hermione smiled, returning to her normal efficient self. "And the few things that I've got from home..."

"Take whatever you need from the house, Mione," Harry said. "You're welcome to anything you want."

"Yeah," Ron said with a grin. "Take the cooker... we won't be using it."

* * *

Harry was late. He knew he was late, and he could probably have worked up enough emotion to care, if he really thought that he would be missed.

Actually, Hermione and Ron would miss him. But he couldn't help but think...

_Ginny_.

It was time he got over it. He knew it. It had been two years. She wasn't interested. She'd been seeing Dean Bloody Thomas since three weeks after...

She was over him, and it was about bloody time that he got over her. He'd start tomorrow. Lavendar Brown was single, and judging by the way she'd shaken her assets in his face the last time he and Ron had run into her in the Leaky Cauldron, she was also interested. Why shouldn't he be?

Rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt, Harry nodded decisively. "Tomorrow, I'm going to call her. Ginny be damned."

And he took a breath, and disapparated into Hermione's flower garden.

The entire Weasley clan, and many, many people from their years at Hogwarts were milling about. Harry looked around, and got his bearings.

"Harry!" Ron called from the other side of the garden. He stood beside Dean and Seamus, holding a butterbeer in one hand.

Dean. Dean Bloody Thomas.

But he was over her, or was about to be. It wasn't Dean's fault. Harry pasted a smile on his face and headed towards the trio. He wouldn't ruin Hermione's housewarming party, he would control his temper.

He still had a job to do. That hadn't changed. Nothing had changed.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting on her front porch, three weeks later, when Bill Weasley popped into the yard.

"Ron, Harry... we need you to come..."

"Bill?" Harry stood. "What is it?"

"Percy..."

"What about him?" Ron stood, as well, Hermione picked up their empty lemonade glasses and hurried into the house, hurrying back out again in seconds.

"The safehouse was attacked."

"Ginny?" Harry asked, his voice strangled.

Since Percy had come to Dumbledore with information on a spy in the Ministry, he had been living in an Order safehouse somewhere in London. They weren't allowed to know where, but Ginny and Molly had gone to him. Dumbledore had assured everyone that they were safe, and there was no stopping Molly. Ginny had gone along because she was a much better duelist than her mother, or Percy for that matter, and felt that they needed some small protection.

Harry, despite his misgivings, had stayed out of it.

"Mum?" Ron asked.

"They're fine... look, just come on... I don't have all the details. Dumbledore is meeting us at Headquarters."

Within minutes, Harry was striding into the war room, to be confronted by the woman he'd been avoiding for over two years.

"Ginny?"

"Oh, Harry!" she cried, standing up from where she'd been crouched next to McGonagall on the sofa. She ran to him, throwing her arms around him. "Harry, it was horrible!"

"Gin, it's okay," he stroked her back. "You're safe...where is your mum?"

"In the study with Dad and Dumbledore... she's not well, Harry."

"And Percy?" he asked gently.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. "He just walked out. Mum and I tried to stop him, we knew they were in the neighborhood – we could feel the Dementors... Oh, Harry, Percy is dead! He left the safehouse to keep them from finding Mum and I..."

Bill and Charlie came into the room, to stop dead at the sight of Ginny in Harry's arms. Bill glanced behind him, and Harry had enough sense to begin to pull away before Dean rounded the corner.

"Ginny?" Dean said, glancing between Ginny and Harry.

"Dean!"

"Here," Harry moved away, gently pressing her towards the other man, the man of her choice, before turning and leaving the room. "I have to talk to Dumbledore."

And he didn't look back.

* * *

"So, it's beginning?" Harry asked.

"It's begun, Harry," Dumbledore paced in front of the fire in Hermione's lounge. "Attacks have been happening all over the country for the last two days. Percy's death..."

Ron flinched, but didn't move from where he sat on one of Hermione's fashionable overstuffed armchairs.

"So, what do we do? When will he come, and to where?" Harry asked.

Suddenly, from the distance, they heard the loud, sudden noise of an explosion.

"The school..." Hermione said, in an awe-struck voice.

"Yes, Miss Granger..." Dumbledore turned his eyes onto her. "It would appear so. Perhaps you should change..."

Hermione looked down at her summer dress and nodded, heading out of the room to change.

"Harry," Dumbledore turned to him. "It looks as though your question may have been answered. I had hoped that Voldemort wouldn't choose to attack the school, but I doubt very much that he would have authorized his Death Eaters to do so without him, if in fact that is what this is..."

He peered out the window.

"Yes..." he nodded, turning back to Harry and Ron.

"Prof..." Harry began.

"Harry... people are going to die. You know that."

"Yes, sir," Harry said quietly, looking into the blue eyes of the man he had followed for eight years. They were no longer twinkling as they normally did. They looked... sad.

"People are going to die around you, Harry. It's not going to stop, until you stop it. You cannot allow their deaths to be in vain, or to distract you from your goal. You understand?"

Harry swallowed, glancing at Ron, and Hermione as she reentered the room.

"Yes, sir." he nodded.

"No matter who it is who falls, Harry, promise me, you will continue on to your goal. You must finish this."

"I know."

"Then I would suggest..."

At that moment, several bodies flew out of Hermione's floo. A tangled heap consisting of Neville, Luna, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Bill and the twins.

"Bloody hell, gerroff!" Fred yelled.

"Well, the backup appears to have arrived," Dumbledore smiled. "Bill?"

"This is it, Dumbledore. I've just been at Headquarters... we think they're planning on attacking the school tonight... Snape told us..."

"I believe, Mr Weasley, you are behind the news," Dumbledore nodded again. "The attack began a few moments ago... are we ready?"

"Dumbledore..." Harry began.

"Later, Harry. Right now, we must attend to the school. Before that, nothing else matters."

Harry nodded, pulling out his wand. His eyes lit on Dean Thomas.

"Dean?" He couldn't help himself.

"Yeah?" Dean looked up from where he was adjusting the buckle on his boot.

"Ginny?"

Dean looked at him a moment. "I made her stay with her mother," he said quietly.

"Good."

"She's safe, Harry," Dean nodded. "I promise."

"Then let's get this done, shall we?" Harry said firmly, striding out the door to be followed by the others.

There was a Dark Lord to vanquish. Then, he could disappear.

* * *

The south road into Hogwarts, leading from the village, was dark. Harry didn't think that sneaking in was the way to go. Brazenly, he lit his wand.

After a moment's hesitation, the others did the same.

It was surpising. In the mile or so to the gates to the school, they managed to pick up dozens of others. Mostly people they recognized, from the village, and from school. Students, people older and younger than Harry, Ron and Hermione. They all had their wands drawn, at the ready. Harry smiled. They might not win. After all, anything was possible. But they wouldn't go down without a fight.

As they rounded the last turn in the lane, they saw them, spread out before the gates. Hundreds of Death Eaters. They were outnumbered. Many, many times over.

_Dear Merlin,_ Harry thought. _Now what?_

"Remember our training," Harry said absently. Ron immediately moved to his left, to stand about ten feet away, his body slightly turned so that Harry could defend his back. Hermione, seeing this, moved to the other side, thankful to Tonks for the advice she had given her on appropriate battle wear. Hermione had bought the tight lycra gym gear months before, in preparation for this. It felt as though she was barely wearing anything, but she was fully covered and, to some small degree, protected by the charms she had put on the outfit.

She laughed. The boys had always drooled over a seemingly oblivious Tonks and her wonderful figure clothed in her stretchy tights with jeans thrown on over top. How funny to know that, for Tonks, it had simply been the most convenient work clothes.

Hermione moved, angling her body to back against Harry's only ten or so feet away. The others, taking their cues, moved around.

And then, it began.

Curses flew, and the trio realized quite quickly that no amount of training could ever have prepared them for this. Harry watched as Ernie MacMillian took a death curse, falling to the ground, only to have Susan Bones stand over his body, and take out three Death Eaters.

They had long since given up on being nice, and with silent agreement, the students of Harry's year, and the other members of the DA, had begun to use Death Curses and Crucios to the best of their ability. It was that, or die.

Harry turned to find Bellatrix Lestrange advancing on them from his left, in Ron's direction, but couldn't do anything about it. Three Death Eaters were standing in front of him, and one was raising his wand...

With a sudden rush of power, Harry lifted both his hands and levelled all three. Hermione gasped before turning to her own challengers.

Somehow, Hermione fell behind. Harry spared her a moment's thought before being distracted by yet another group.

"It's Potter! Get him!" a shrill voice screamed.

"Harry!"

Harry glanced over to see Ron battling Bellatrix, and taking a Crucio. Bella did like to play with them before...

"Harry!" Seamus' voice came from his right as he death cursed three separate Death Eaters. "What say we finish off this lot and go find us a drink?"

With Seamus beside him, and Ron on the other side dealing with Bellatrix, Harry saw what was ahead of him. It almost seemed as though a path had cleared in the crowd, and directly ahead of him stood Voldemort.

It had finally come.

* * *

Hermione looked up, panting, from the dead Death Eater laying on the ground in front of her. Susan Bones lay dead next to him. She saw Ron battling with Bellatrix Lestrange... one Death Eater who seldom wore the mask... and Seamus and Harry...

And then, out of nowhere, Draco Malfoy, advancing on Harry from behind...

"Harry!" she screamed, throwing herself forward. "_No!"_

She felt light... carefree, even with the reality of what was going on around her. This didn't matter... she was free.

She turned, to look into the gleeful silver eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, well..." he said. "Look what I caught. This is going to be better than I imagined..."

_Oh, Dear Merlin..._ Hermione thought. _He's cast the Imperious..._

"Now, mudblood, turn, and do as I command..." Draco's voice came through, although she knew he hadn't actually spoken.

As she turned, she idly wondered what would happen, what was Draco making her do... and then she realized. Dumbledore stood in front of her, twenty feet away. She raised her wand...

_No! I won't!_

"Oh, but you will," Draco said. "Now!"

Her wand hand raised again, but somehow, tears rolling down her cheeks, she managed to turn it away from Dumbledore and towards herself. She was crying uncontrollably. She didn't want to die, but she knew what Draco intended for her to do, and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if he succeeded.

But the wand began to turn back... she heard the words chanting in her brain, she could feel the wand turning back and she couldn't stop it.

_Avada_...

"_Ron!_" she screamed. "Ron, please kill me! Please... please kill me before..."

_Avada kedavra._

She looked up into Dumbledore's eyes. They were sad, looking at her, still twinkling, but...

_You are forgiven, Hermione Granger. I forgive you. If you remember nothing else, remember that._

And the headmaster of Hogwarts, the greatest wizard in the world, fell at the wand of Hermione Granger.

* * *

"Is she okay?" Harry asked.

"We need to worry about you right now. Let me see that arm..." Madame Pomfrey said.

"It's fine," he said dismissively. He'd been caught by a stray cutting curse, but he knew the difference between a scratch and a debilitating wound. "I want to see Hermione."

"Not now, Mr Potter," Madame Pomfrey said firmly.

Harry's eyes narrowed, "Now."

The look on the school nurse's face would have been laughable if it hadn't been such a horrible situation.

"Bed three," she said quietly, recognizing the power behind the man who had just reduced Voldemort to a pile of dust.

After seeing Hermione's broken body, Harry retreated to the hall outside, where he found a chair and sat.

"Harry?"

"She's... Ron..." Harry looked up at his friend, to see Dean and Seamus, Bill and Charlie standing with him. Neville stood a few feet away, looking lost.

"I don't understand..." Ron was nearly crying. "Why did she turn on Dumbledore?"

"Draco used the Imperious on her," Harry said blankly.

"She jumped in front of a curse he threw at you, Harry," Dean said, his voice shaking. "I saw it."

"Malfoy?" Seamus said, his voice low and dangerous. "That son of a..."

It was a good thing that Bill, Charlie and the twins were there, as Dean and Seamus turned as one to head towards the main doors.

"Whoa, boys..."

"I'm taking that little pissant out, Weasley, so move it!" Seamus spat at Charlie.

"The aurors have him, and he's being taken to Azkaban, Seamus. Chill out," Charlie returned, grunting against the exertion of holding Seamus back. Harry stared blankly at the scene around him.

"Harry?" Ron said, moving to his side.

Harry sighed, stood, and removed his wand from under his robes. He took one look at Ron and turned to walk down the hall. Ron, after a moment of watching him sadly, turned and motioned to Bill and the twins who were standing next to Dean and Seamus, where Neville was talking to them in a low, urgent voice. Neville was proving to be very good at calming the other two down.

"What?"

"Don't know," Ron said, moving down the hall. "Might be nothing, but I've got a bad feeling... come on."

The made it to the Entrance Hall just in time to see Harry raise his wand. Malfoy stood between two aurors who were busy binding him, and who hadn't noticed Harry's approach. A third stood to the side.

"Harry!" Ron yelled. The four people in the hall looked up, and the aurors immediately drew their wands.

"It's over, Draco. Azkaban is too good for you..." Harry said.

"Harry..." Ron said, running up next to his friend. "What are you going to do, take out Draco and three innocent aurors?"

"I won't have to if they'll just stand back. I'll even let them give him his wand back. It's not going to do him any good."

"Harry... come on..."

Harry turned, looking at Ron, and Ron gasped. There was so much hate in Harry's eyes. His green eyes glowed in a way that Ron had never seen, and he could feel the power radiating from him.

"Dumbledore is dead because of him. And Hermione...."

Realizing that they had better move quickly, the Aurors lined up around the bound Draco, preparing to apparate. Draco sneered.

"Next time, Potter!"

It was all that Ron, Bill and the twins could do to hold Harry back. Ron had hold of Harry's wand arm, keeping it down at his side, although he knew it wouldn't make any difference whatsoever if Harry remembered he could do wandless magic. He prayed that Harry was too upset to remember.

"I'll dance on your grave, Malfoy!" Harry said in a low, vibrating voice that carried through the hall., "Someday, somehow, you son of a bitch, I swear to all that is holy, I'll see you dead and dance on your goddamned grave!"

* * *

The sun shone down, hot, as Harry stood in the clearing. He leaned against the handle of a shovel, sweat glistening against his bare chest. He was wearing filthy jeans and heavy boots, and not much else.

The hole was eight feet long and four feet wide, and he was down nearly three feet. Having only been out here for a little over two hours, he was making good progress.

There was a pop, and Harry looked up to see Ron striding across the clearing towards him.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Digging," Harry said shortly, tossing another shovelful of earth over his shoulder and out of the pit.

"I can see that. Why?"

"Because I need to."

Ron stilled. "We could magic the shovels, Harry..."

"Ron," Harry paused, looking up at Ron. "I need to."

Ron was silent for a moment before he sighed, and stripping off his own shirt, grabbed the second shovel and jumped into the hole.

Silently, they dug the grave together.

After what seemed like hours, they got to where they felt it was deep enough. Harry climbed out, then held out his hand to help Ron out. They made their way to the edge of the clearing that looked down over Hogwarts, and sat. Harry handed Ron a bottle of water, and took a drink from his own.

"It's good here." Ron said.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, nodding.

"Harry, she's better off," Ron said quietly.

"I know, Ron."

After a moment, Harry turned to look at his friend. Ron was as dirty as Harry knew himself to be, and there was a pain in his eyes that Harry knew was reflected in his own.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Ron glanced at him. "Yeah. Some things just aren't meant to be, I guess."

"Maybe," Harry nodded. "Maybe."

"We need to get cleaned up. Funeral is in an hour..."

"Yeah, I know..." Harry looked over the hills to the school, where everything had begun for him, and ended. "It's time to move on."

FINIS


End file.
